United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Women's Basketball

Coast Guard welcomes back three starters including junior guard Natalie Moyer, who scored a single-season school record 547 points last season, as Coast Guard finished 11-15 overall and 6-7 in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).

Moyer shattered a pair of Coast Guard Academy single-season records as she scored the 547 points and hit a record 95 three-pointers while also setting the single-game scoring mark as she scored 47 points in a win over Babson. Moyer became the first women’s basketball player in Coast Guard history to score over 500 points. The previous mark was 440 points set by Jen Revelle in the 1988-89 season.

The Bears also welcome back junior guard DeCarol Davis, who missed the final eight games of the season with an injury, and junior point guard Laura Hutchinson, who started all 26 games last season.

Moyer, who earned first team All-conference honors, second team All-region honors from d3hoops.com and honorable mention All-America honors from DIII News, averaged a NEWMAC best 21 points per game, led the conference with 3.3 three-pointers per game and was second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game.

Davis was second on the team with 12.6 points per game while grabbing 6.2 rebounds per game. Hutchinson led the team with 94 assists while averaging 2.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

Junior guard Katie Colella (7.5 ppg.), who saw her playing time increase when Davis went down with her injury for the final eight games, was second on the team with 46 three-pointers and led the NEWMAC shooting 36.5 percent from behind the arc. She had six or more three-pointers in three games, all wins, including a 7 for 8 performance in a win over Albertus Magnus. Colella will be the first player off the bench this season for the Bears.

Coast Guard has made living from three-point range over the past couple of seasons. The Bears were 224 of 746 last season (.300). This season shouldn’t be much different with shooters like Moyer, Davis and Colella on the perimeter.

”Our junior guard are going to be the key to the season”, said head coach Alex Simonka, in his 14th season. “We need them to stay healthly in order for us to be successful this year.”

The Bears will have new faces in a very inexperienced front court with the graduation of Mary Arvidson, who averaged 9.9 points while leading the NEWMAC with 11 rebounds per game.

Senior co-captain Sarah Eberling (2.7 ppg./3.4 rpg.) is expected to start at center while freshman Melissa Martinelli will start at the forward spot. Senior co-captain Claire Mielke will backup at the center position. Freshman Crystal Lee Coonan will backup at the forward spot.

Junior Torie Lusardi, who missed last season with an injury, is healthy and will backup at the point guard position.

Junior forward Corinne McCormack and sophomore guard Mary Bitzer are both part to the volleyball team which advanced to the NCAA Division III Elite 8, so have been unable to practice. Simonka hopes to have them ready for the second semester.

Coast Guard will play a very challenging early season schedule which begins at the Salem State Tournament, a field in which the three other teams, all went to the NCAA Tournament last season, including Williams, the Bears first round opponent, which advanced to the Sweet 16.

”Early in the season, I am not so worried about wins or losses, but I want my young players to get experience in game situations which will prepare us for conference play in the second semester,” said Simonka.

Those young players include freshman guards Leslie Hunt and Sabrina Taylor, who will see some playing time in the backcourt while sophomore Chanel Lee, a guard/forward will give the Bears depth at both spots.

“We will be challenged every time we step onto the floor,” said Simonka. “Our schedule is just as difficult as it is every year and our young front court is going to have to develop and get better each and every game, we are still going to shoot the three-pointers, but we need to have someone step up for us down low.”